Dough mixing knowledge that bakers need to master

In the current mechanization of bread making, the best demonstration of individual technical advantages is stirring
.
Recognizing this, and trying to find the best state of the dough through the eyes, nose, hands, ears, etc.
, is the key
to the success or failure of bread making.

The bread is good or bad, and the stirring determines the majority
.
In bread making, the meaning of stirring is to mix wheat flour and water, which in turn promotes its combination to form a strong gluten, and forms a bubble film with starch and oil, which can effectively retain the carbon dioxide
produced by baker's yeast.

The purpose of stirring

There are three main purposes of stirring, one is to evenly disperse and mix raw materials; The second is to punch air into the dough; The third is to make dough
with moderate elasticity and stretchability.

In the mixer, the purpose of low-speed stirring is mainly to disperse and mix the raw materials, especially to completely disperse the micro-additives such as baker's yeast and yeast nutrients, which is an indispensable factor for the uniform fermentation of
bread.
On the other hand, the purpose of medium-high speed mixing is to mix air into the dough (using the air contained in the dough as the core to collect carbon dioxide produced by baker's yeast, and if less air is mixed in, the number of bubbles will be less, and a dough with rough pores will be produced), and a dough
with moderate elasticity and stretchability will be made.
How to make full and effective use of the protein contained in wheat flour to form gluten while maintaining the carbon dioxide produced by baker's yeast is the key to
making good bread.

In the mixing process, the effects of low-speed stirring and high-speed stirring are completely different
.
Even if the time of low-speed stirring is extended several times, it is impossible to expect it to have the same effect
as high-speed stirring.
Conversely, if you are impatient or too eager to achieve results at work, and overuse high-speed stirring, it is impossible to make good bread
.

5 stages of stirring

Crawling phase

Wheat flour, sugar, skimmed milk powder and other raw materials are added to the water, just a simple mixing, the dough does not form a connection, is in a sticky state, the material distribution is uneven, no matter which part is easy to be grabbed and separated
.

Go to the water stage

At this stage, the mixer can switch from low to medium speed
.
Materials such as wheat flour are saturated with moisture and finally form a dough
with a connecting force.
The dough forms a ball and the mixing tank becomes clean
.
However, there is still less bonding between gluten, the dough is stretched out, the film of gluten is still very thick, and the incision is rough and broken
.

Expansion phase

As the gluten is bonded and hydrated, the dough appearance takes on a glossy and smooth feel
.
When you stretch the dough, you can feel that the dough has stretching and connection, and at the same time, it is also resistant
to stretching.
The dough is wrapped around the mixing paddle and when it comes into contact with the mixing cylinder, it makes a dull dry sound
.

Complete the phase

In the second half of the expansion phase, there is a state called the completion phase
.
Although the dough is attached to the mixing paddle, with the patting with the mixing tank, the dough gradually has the feeling
of sticking to the wall of the cylinder and then being lifted.
The sound of slapping in the mixing tank also becomes sharper and sounds moist
.

Unfold the dough, which is thin and smooth, and not too sticky
.
This stage varies depending on the type of blender, usually only tens of seconds, and accurately grasping it is one of
the most important techniques in the bread making process.

Transition phase

If you continue to stir, the dough will become wet and sticky, showing unusual adhesion
.
Stretch out the dough, you can feel that the dough is completely unresistant, stretched thin and fluid, and will hang down
like a liquid.
This phase is also known as the overstirring phase
.

However, if you make toast from good quality wheat flour and stir it a little too slightly, you can also make high-quality bread
if the fermentation time is appropriately extended during the first and second fermentations.
The dough in the early state of the transition stage can bake bread
with a white internal tissue and fine pores.

The stirring state is not absolute

The dough has the most suitable state of stirring, as well as understirring and overstirring
.
It would be
a big mistake to think that the most appropriate state of stirring is an absolute state.
Depending on the product, preparation method, recipe and fermentation time, the most suitable dough state after mixing is definitely different
.
For example, in the case of insufficient stirring to present the characteristics of bread, the insufficient stirring is the most suitable mixing state
for this bread.

In any case, you have to wait until the bread is finally formed and baked to know if it is stirred properly
.
However, if you can consider the product, production method, and raw materials you want to present in advance, especially the nature of wheat flour (the quantity and quality of protein), you can predict the most suitable stirring state
to a certain extent.

It must be noted here that some people have the opinion that "although the dough is good, the finished product is not good", but in fact, if the finished product is not good, the first thing to suspect is whether there is a problem
with the dough.

The most suitable stirring

The most suitable state of stirring, as mentioned earlier, will vary
depending on the type of bread.
For the case of mainly using high-gluten flour to make fluffy bread, the most suitable stirring state is when
the gluten resistance is from the strongest to gradually weaken, and it begins to show stretchability.
When the dough is opened, a uniform translucent film appears, the dough is dry and the operation is good, and the finished product after baking is also very good
.

Insufficient stirring

Here, the case of uneven mixing of raw materials is not discussed
.
Generally, beginners are easy to end the stirring in the state of "insufficient stirring", such dough is not well operable, the volume of the bread is small, and the internal bubble film film is also very thick
.

Stir too much

The degree of mixing has changed with the times, thanks to the improvement of wheat varieties, the advancement of milling technology, the development of bread-making machinery, and the leap
in bread-making technology.
The stirring time is now noticeably longer than before
.

That said, if the stirring time is too long, the dough will lack resistance (elasticity), become soft and sticky, and become very unworkable
.
In addition, the volume of the bread will become smaller, and the texture of bubble wrap inside will become thicker, which is basically similar
to the state when stirring is insufficient.
However, if high-quality wheat flour is used and the stirring is slightly excessive, it is possible to restore the dough state to some extent by lengthening the first and second fermentation times, and the volume of the finished product will increase
slightly.
But it is also believed that this method will make the bread somewhat lacking
in flavor.

Excessive stirring can loosen the dough and weaken the bonding force, because due to the mechanical continuous operation, the gluten bond is pulled and stretched beyond the necessary limit, thereby losing its elasticity and increasing adhesion
.
Other factors should also be taken into account, such as the breakdown of proteins and starches by enzymes, the activation of reducing substances, and the reconstitution
of gluten.

Factors affecting stirring time

When mixing dough, there are subtle differences
in the mixing time of each day and each time.
Even if the same dough is stirred under the same conditions, the time will vary
.
There are many factors that affect it, the main ones are:

salt

Everyone knows that salt can play a role in tightening gluten, prolonging the mixing time, and improving the stability of the dough
.
In the United States, the post-salt method
is mostly used.
Adding table salt 4-5 minutes before the end of stirring can shorten the stirring time by 20%, about 3 minutes
.

sugar

Granulated sugar can promote the stretchability of the dough, and although the dough organization seems to be better connected at first glance, in fact, as the amount of sugar used increases, the stirring time also increases
.
If you ask everyone "is it that the mixing time of polysaccharide dough is relatively long", most people will definitely think that "the mixing time of sweet dough should be shorter than that of toast dough"
.

This is because when using a horizontal mixer, in terms of the number of rotations of the machine and the structure of the mixing paddle, with the extension of the mixing time, the stretching effect is more significant than the shrinkage effect, so the mixing time can be shortened, which is a very correct method
in real operation.
However, it is also true that the gluten of polysaccharide dough forms more slowly, because sugar grains have an inhibitory effect
on the formation of gluten.

Skimmed milk powder

Even if skimmed milk powder is dispersed in water, it will not dissolve
immediately.
The presence of this solid substance in the dough delays the formation
of gluten.

The quantity and quality of wheat flour protein

The protein content is more, of course, the amount of gluten and gliadin bound will be more, and the stirring time will be long
.
At the same time, there is a correlation
between the amount of wheat protein and the most appropriate stirring speed.
High-protein wheat flour is suitable for high-speed blenders, low-protein wheat flour is suitable for low-speed blenders, and wheat flour with high protein content will also increase
the mixing resistance.

Water absorption

If the dough is soft, you will feel that the stirring has been sufficient and the dough has a smooth texture
when observed with the naked eye.
But in fact, the more water absorbs the dough, the longer the stirring time needs to be lengthened, and the most suitable stirring time range increases at the same time
.
Conversely, harder doughs tend to finish stirring more quickly and the most suitable time frame for mixing is reduced
.

Dough temperature

The higher the dough temperature, the shorter the mixing time and the less
resistant it is.
Conversely, when the dough temperature is low, the dough joints slow down and the stirring time becomes correspondingly longer
.

pH

If the pH value is low, the stirring time becomes shorter and the range of the stirring stage is smaller
.

(Medium Roast)

China Food News (November 07, 2022, 05 Edition).